Pemon

PRONUNCIATION:
PAY-mahn

ALTERNATE NAMES:
Arecuna; Kamarakoto; Taurepan

LOCATION:
Venezuela

POPULATION:
Unknown

LANGUAGE:
Pemon

RELIGION:
Indigenous beliefs mingled with Christian elements

1 • INTRODUCTION

The Pemon-Caribs of Venezuela used to be called
Arecuna, Kamarakoto,
and
Taurepan.
But they call themselves
Pemon
. There are no historical records of their lives from the time before
1750. At the end of the nineteenth century, English Protestant
missionaries started to Christianize the Pemon. In 1931, the first
Capuchin (a Catholic religious order) mission post in the Pemon area was
established. Gold and diamond rushes began in the area in 1936. During
the 1960s, the area was connected with other parts of Venezuela by
airplane and by new roads.

Diamond mining has not been a major activity in recent years. This,
together with the poor quality of Pemon agricultural land and the late
opening of the area, has spared the Pemon from major land invasions from
the outside world. Many of their traditions and their original methods
of communication—their language, smoke signals, and messages
carried by people on foot—have survived.

2 • LOCATION

The Pemon territory covers the coastal area of the Atlantic Ocean in
Venezuela, the inland mountain savanna (plains) area, and the Amazon
River area.

The region is unique for its
tepuis,
the remains of mighty sandstone plateaus that once stretched across the
entire area. In the course of time, the plateaus were worn down by
erosion. This left only the tepuis as giant monuments to their
existence. There are more than one hundred of them. Fewer than half have
been thoroughly explored. Many of them are so tall that they are hidden
by dense cloud cover for days at a time. Much of the plant and animal
life atop the tepuis is unique—found nowhere else.

In the area south of the Orinoco River, the country is mainly lowlands.
Farther south, toward the Amazon region, the landscape turns
mountainous.

3 • LANGUAGE

Father Cesareo de Armellada was the author of the first dictionary of
the Pemon language (published in 1943). At the time it was called
Taurepan.
Many words in this language show interesting patterns of formation. For
example, the word for "sugar-cane" is
kaiwara-kún-imá
, which means "pineapple with a very long leg." The word
for "pineapple" itself,
kaiwara,
means "a sweet with wrinkles." The Pemon word for
"dew" is
chirké-yetakú,
which means "star's saliva."
Yetakú
is "saliva" or, more precisely, "juice of the
teeth."

There is no word for "year" in the Pemon language. The day
is divided into "dawning," "morning,"
"noontime," "afternoon,"

The Pemon speak their own language among themselves, and Spanish or a
simplified form of Spanish with outsiders. In the mission villages and
mining areas of the state of Bolívar, more and more young people
also use Spanish among themselves. Most Pemon people now have Christian
(Spanish) names. They often have two American Indian names as well. One
of these is a sacred and secret name.

4 • FOLKLORE

The Pemon have traditionally believed that each person has five souls,
which look like the shadows of a human being. The fifth soul is the one
that talks and that leaves the
body to travel around when the person is dreaming. This is the only one
that goes away—to the Milky Way—after death. Before
arriving there, it meets the Father of the Dogs. If the person has
mistreated his or her dogs, the dogs' souls will recognize the
person and kill him or her.

One of the other four souls lives in the knee and stays put for a while
after death; later, it turns into a bad spirit. The other three souls
turn into birds of prey after death. All animals and plants are believed
to have souls. Stones do not have souls, but they house bad spirits.

The
Makunaima
is a series of creation stories of the Pemon land, crops, techniques,
and social practices. It starts with the creation of a wife for the
first Pemon—the Sun—by a water nymph. At that time, the
Sun was a person. One day he went to the stream and saw a small woman
with long hair. He managed to grasp her hair, but she told him,
"Not me! I will send you a woman to be your companion and your
wife."

Her name was
Tuenkaron
, and the next day she sent the Sun a white woman. He fed her, and she
lit a fire. But when the Sun sent her to the stream, she collapsed into
a little heap of clay. The woman was made of white earth, or clay. The
next day Tuenkaron sent him a black woman. She was able to bring water,
but when she tried to light a fire, she melted. The woman was made of
wax. The third woman was red, a rock-colored woman. The sun tested her
and she did not melt or collapse. She was strong and able to help run
the household. The woman and the Sun had several children, and these are
the Pemon.

5 • RELIGION

Most American Indian belief systems have been mixed to some degree with
Christian elements. In spite of the strength of Catholicism, the Pemon
still believe in
Kanaima
—the spirit of evil. Also, some social traditions, such as the
marriage of cousins, that are opposed by the church are practiced by
many Pemon. The Pemon have also mixed traditional cult saints with
Catholic saints.

6 • MAJOR HOLIDAYS

As most Pemon have been Christianized, their major holidays are the same
as those celebrated by Catholics. Holy Week and Christmas are the most
important.

7 • RITES OF PASSAGE

Traditional rites of passage were associated with the life cycle (birth,
adolescence, and death), but most are no longer celebrated. Baptism in a
Catholic mission is now the only important rite of passage.

Often a father gives a child a secret name in the Pemon language. It is
forbidden to use a secret name when speaking to any person, male or
female. This is not the case with Spanish names, and the Pemon are eager
to baptize their children with Spanish names. Women usually do not have
last names. Men sometimes adopt the last name of their boss in the
diamond mines. Brothers sometimes end up with different last names for
this reason.

Traditionally, a boy's passage into adolescence was marked with a
special ceremony. A Pemon religious leader lashed a boy's body,
made incisions in his skin, and applied what were believed to be magic
substances
to the wounds. For one year after the ceremony, certain foods could not
be eaten.

A girl's passage into adolescence was marked by a haircut before
the first menstruation. In addition, the edges of a girl's mouth
was tattooed in a traditional design. At the first sign of menstruation,
the girl retired to her hammock and was considered impure. Her
grandmother would then paint her whole body in a special way.

8 • RELATIONSHIPS

Marriage is the key to the social organization of the Pemon people. It
determines the pattern of visits between villages, which is at the heart
of their social life. Visits for beer parties and meetings with
relatives tie neighborhoods and regions together. The respect that a
village or neighborhood receives is often gauged by the quality and
quantity of
manioc
(cassava) beer offered by the hosts.

Conversation is lively when the family gathers for a meal. If guests are
present, the men eat first.

Open conflict, anger, and fighting are strongly discouraged. The basic
response to conflict is to withdraw. Often this means a person will
leave home and make an extended visit to relatives somewhere else,
waiting for things to calm down. Since the Pemon do not approve of anger
or displays of hostility, physical punishment of children is very rare.
If an adult hits a child at all, it is done so mildly that it is just a
reminder. Pemon children learn by example and are given much freedom.

9 • LIVING CONDITIONS

In the old days, when somebody became ill, the local shaman or
paisan
connected the cause of the illness with one of the many mythical
spirits. For healing, the shaman uses his
taren
recipes. These are a mixture of medicinal plants and charms. The taren
is believed to be a magic spell that can aid in the birth of a child,
counter the bite of various snakes, heal headaches and stomach pains,
and so forth. The taren can only be taught to one person at a time, and
it is performed in the presence of as few people as possible.

The Pemon's traditional housing consists of huts whose walls are
made of clay or bark, with roofs made of palm leaves. Hammocks are hung
from the beams of the roof, and a fire is kept at one or two corners of
the house. Arrows, knives, axes, and fishing rods are piled up in one
corner. Baskets, carrying sacks, and pumpkins hang on the walls.

10 • FAMILY LIFE

Marriage is the basis of the main social and economic unit. The
relationship between the father-in-law and the son-in-law is most
important. For the father-in-law, his son-inlaw is the substitute for
his own son. Therefore, after the marriage, the son-in-law detaches
himself from his own father and takes care of his father-in-law. In the
Pemon society, there is no wedding ceremony. The new husband simply
moves his hammock to his father-in-law's house and starts working
with him.

According to traditional beliefs, the solid parts of babies—the
bones—come from the father, and the blood comes from the
mother. The mother gives birth behind a partition installed in the hut.
She is helped by her mother or mother-in-law. For ten days after the
birth, the parents stay behind the partition with their newborn child.

The Pemon love their children. Their attitude toward them is lenient.
Parents do not constantly remind their children about their behavior.
Children learn by following the parents' example, and they very
seldom need to be disciplined or punished.

11 • CLOTHING

In the past, the Pemon went naked or used only loincloths. The
traditional clothing of a Pemon woman was an apron made of cotton or
beads. In the twentieth century, the men's loincloths were made
of a bright red cloth obtained from the criollos (Venezuelans of mixed
descent).

By 1945, the Pemon had started wearing Western cotton clothing. The men
tend to wear khaki, while the women make their dresses using cotton
fabrics printed with patterns. At the beginning of the twentieth
century, the women wore metal earrings known as
"butterfly" earrings, which they bought. It was also
common for them to have facial tattoos and to wear bands of cotton cloth
or glass beads around their arms and legs.

12 • FOOD

Yucca, manioc root, or cassava is an important ingredient of the Pemon
diet. The women peel, wash, and grate this root. They then squeeze out
the acid and make it into a dough. With this, they prepare their flat
bread or fermented drinks. One of these beverages, the
cachiri,
is made with bitter yucca paste, which is grated and chewed and mixed
with a red root,
cachiriyek,
that has also been grated. The mixture is then boiled for a whole day.
This brew is mildly intoxicating.

Also part of the Pemon diet is
aurosa,
a spinachlike vegetable. The Pemon also eat peppers, potatoes,
pineapple, plantain, sugarcane, and more than ten varieties of bananas.
Women gather peppers and
aurosa
daily for the pepper pot, a soup that forms part of every meal.

Fishing provides an important source of animal protein in the Pemon
diet. In the past, hunting was not very effective, even though the men
put a great deal of time into it. The situation changed, however, with
the arrival of firearms in the 1940s. Birds and mammals, such as deer
and vampire bats, then became an important part of the diet.

During the rainy season, the Pemon capture flying ants. Throughout the
year, they gather the insect larvae found in the
moriche
palm.

13 • EDUCATION

One of the tools of the Pemon for educating their young is oral
tradition. Their many stories are used by the elders to teach their
sense of morality and concept of the world. The storyteller's
closing words are usually
A-pantoní-pe nichii
(May you take advantage of this story).

Since 1979, bilingual (two-language) education at American Indian
primary schools has been compulsory (required). Most of the main
languages in American Indian territory have at least one school-book.
Although the teachers' organizations
and the government have proved their good will in the recent past,
there are many difficulties in keeping up this system. Some Pemon
children spend time in mission boarding schools or day schools through
the primary-school years and sometimes longer.

14 • CULTURAL HERITAGE

Music and dance are important components of Pemon culture. They
accompany all sorts of public festivals and rituals.
Mari'
or
Mari'k,
for example, is the Pemon word for the dance and music that used to be
performed in public by the
paisan
(shaman) and his assistants.

Nowadays there are no paisans left in the Christianized Pemon villages.
Some Pemon even seem to be ashamed of tokens from the past, such as old
musical instruments. Still, on occasions when
cachiri
drinking makes them receptive to tradition, spontaneously an old dance
starts. With sticks and empty cans and tins for instruments, they sing
songs full of endlessly repeated short phrases, varied by made-up
phrases, jokes, and bits of the old shaman songs.

15 • EMPLOYMENT

For the Pemon, work is a basic part of life. There is no word for
"working" other than
senneka,
which means "being active" more than
"laboring." Only when the Pemon started working with the
missionaries or miners did they adopt the Spanish word
trabajo
(work), which turned into
trabasoman
to describe work done in the European way.

The Pemon's means of subsistence (getting enough food to live on)
are based on slash-and-burn farming, fishing, hunting, and collecting
wild fruits and insects. There is now more flexibility in the division
of work among the Pemon people. Traditionally, for example, men were
responsible for preparing the soil for planting, while women were in
charge of weeding, harvesting, and transporting the crops.

16 • SPORTS

Spectator sports have never been common among aboriginal peoples. Most
of the talents valued by these societies are part of their day-to-day
life—essential survival skills. Fishing, hunting, and merely
getting from one place to another require the ability to run fast, jump
high and far, use the bow and arrow, swim, and so forth.

Pemon Indians who are in close contact with whites do pay some attention
to spectator sports.

17 • RECREATION

The Pemon culture is rich in oral literature: tales and legends that the
American Indians call
pantón.
There is no specific time dedicated to telling stories, but the
favorite moment is just before going to sleep. The morning is the time
for telling and interpreting dreams, and storytelling might happen again
after meals. Stories and legends are considered luxuries. People take
special trips to visit other groups in order to collect them. The
possessor of stories is called
sak
. A guest who tells stories or brings news or new songs is always
welcome.

18 • CRAFTS AND HOBBIES

The Pemon value the abilities of their artisans. Outstanding persons are
recognized for their individual skills. Some women are famous for the
quality of their clay bowls.

Basketry is another major art form. Men make all of the baskets and
fiber articles, including the eating mats and strainers used in everyday
household work and cooking. But everyday basketry is different from the
more complicated forms, which can be used in trade. As in the case of
pottery, only certain men are skilled at making complex baskets.

The Pemon also make wooden dugout and bark canoes, paddles, and bows,
and they weave hammocks and baby carriers.

19 • SOCIAL PROBLEMS

Authorities and international support organizations identified land
rights as the most pressing issue facing the Pemon in the 1990s.
Venezuela recognizes land rights for its American Indian population. But
in many cases it provides only provisional titles to land, which can be
ignored easily. Gold, diamonds, and timber are once again attracting
outsiders. Their arrival often leads to violation of Indian rights. The
tourist industry is also threatening the region. What has been a
controlled, eco-friendly enterprise could turn into an invasion if plans
to build big hotels are approved.